Road form or rail



Sept; 22, 1936. G. H. MILLER ROAD FORM OR RAIL Filed May 24, 1935 m u M H m w. 6

Patented Sept. 22, 1936 all omen STATES PATENT OFFICE ROAD FORM OR RAIL George H. Miller, Milwaukee, Wis., assignor to Metal Forms Corporation, Milwaukee, Wis., a

corporation Application May 24, 1935, Serial No. 23,297

' 2 Claims,

In the art of road construction employing aggregate materials in plastic, or like form, for the building of the road, it is customary to. emjploy today form members at the opposite sides of the road subgrade and extending longitudinally thereof, between which form members the road materials are laid. These road forms not only act as mold members for confining the road aggregates that provide the concrete, asphalt, or other road structure, when completed, but such forms are required according to frequent usage to support very heavy road finishing machinery such as concrete tamping machines, and the like.

The present invention involves a novel construction of road form or rail, designed for the purposes above outlined, and having special structural features whereby the form or rail is strengthened vertically and at its formed face portion so that the mold and rail means thus provided, may readily sustain the heavy Weights of the portable tamping and finishing machines that may operate thereon, and further may be maintained rigid under the rough usage or handling incident to the assemblage of the rails end for end, the disassembly thereof, and the transportation of the devices from one job to another, where they may have to be employed.

A full understanding of the invention, and the merits thereof, will be had upon reference to the accompanying drawing, in which:-

Figure l is a perspective view of a road form embodying the invention, showing a joint member applied to the form.

Figure 2 is a vertical sectional view taken about on the line 2-2 of Figure 1, looking in the direction of the arrows.

Figures 3 and 4 are fragmentary perspective Views showing a little more clearly the specific angular formations of the head and base sections of the form or rail. 7

Figure 5 illustrates in perspective sectional view, my rail having a suitable stake box applied thereto, the stake box shown being generally of conventional type and a stake being emplaced in the box and through the base portions of the form.

Specifically describing the invention, reference is made particularly to Figures 1 and 2 from which it will be observed that my road form or rail is made up primarily of two members or sections, which, for the purposes of this description will be termed the head section, generally denoted at A, and the base section, generally denoted at B. The head section A is comprised of the head I formed at its inner edge with a downwardly extending vertical faceflange or wall member 2, the outer surface of which provides the molding face of the form, or rail device. The wall or face member 2 of the head I extends at right angles thereto, practically speaking, and is coextensive with the height of the form or rail unit. From the head I at the outer portion thereof downwardly extends the brace wall 3 of the head section, the said wall having its lowermost portion bent outwardly toprovide a base flange 4.

The complemental base section B cooperating with the head section A is comprised of the base plate 5, the inner edge portion of which is bent vertically to provide the integral vertical wall section or member 6, the outer face of which is in contact with the adjacent or inner face of the wall member 2 of the head section A. Likewise, the wall member 6 of the base section B is coextensive with the height of the wall member 2 from the lower edge of said wall member 2 to the plane of the under surface of the head I.

To afford a unitary structure, it is contemplated that the base section B and the head section A of the form shall be rigidly connected together, and for this purpose, there may be employed the rivet means 1 passing through the parts 2 and 6, and the rivet means 8 passing through the flange 4 and the outer edge portion of the base plate 5. It is notable, however, that instead of rivet means 1 and 8, I may utilize welded connections between the said parts 2 and 6, and 4 and 5, the only requirement being that the sections A and B be united in a firm and rigid manner, so as to be handled as a unit, and to be operative as a unit when emplaced upon a road subgrade for actual use.

It has been found that by the use of the face wall 2, and the reinforcing wall 6, associated with the parts A and B, respectively, and disposed to provide virtually a combination wall structure when the parts A and B are assembled, I obtain a highly rigid form, the strength of which is greatest in a vertical direction, and at the face of the form, the rigidity of the structure thus obtained being ample to cope with mounting of all ordinary road machinery upon the rail or form, according to customary practice, without any distortion or bending of the form or rail unit result- Likewise, since the two parts 2 and 6 mutually brace or reinforce each other, the distortion or bending of the face portion of the form is prevented by the composite strong wall structure 2-6 obtained according to the foregoing description.

The base plate 5 and flange 4 may be formed be welded to the parts 3 and i, or secured in any other suitable manner, as by providing offstanding base flanges for the legs or sides I of the box, which flanges may be riveted or welded to the upper surface of the part 4. Figure 5 also illustrates a stake H mounted in the stake box C.

The use of the parts C and l i is according to com mon practice, and does not constitute any material feature of the present invention. I do not Wish to be limited, therefore, to any particular kind or structure of stake box units, for employment in conjunction with my form or rail device.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is:

1. A composite, unitary road form or rail composed of a pair of complemental sections corresponding in length, one of said sections being of right angle form to provide a vertical facewall and a horizontal base Wall, the other of said sections being inverted channel-shape to provide a vertical face Wall overlapping the vertical face wall of the first-mentioned section, the opposing wall of said channel section terminating in a horizontal flange overlying the base wall of the first section, and means for securing the vertical face walls of said sections together and the channel section flange to the base wall of the other section.

2. A composite, unitary road form or rail composed of a pair of co-extensive complemental base'and head sections, the base section being of right angle form toprovide a vertical face wall and a horizontal base wall, the head section being channel-shaped and disposed upon the base section in inverted position, said head section comprising a vertical face wall overlapping upon the'vertical face Wall of the base section, a tread section and a diagonal brace wall, said brace wall terminating in a horizontal flange disposed upon the base wall of the base section, means for securing the vertical face Walls of the sections together to thereby provide a reinforced support for vertical stresses, and means for securing the horizontal flange to the base wall of the base section to thereby resist lateral stresses transmitted through the brace Wall aforesaid.

GEORGE H. MILLER. 

